HBG Health - Brand Innovations for Health

Pharmaceutical companies: are they antisocial?

In an increasingly digital age, most companies are inviting public comments on social media sites, and using this as a way to gauge engagement with the brand. But pharmaceutical companies are not. 

In August 2011, when Facebook stopped giving the option to turn off public comments, many pharmaceutical companies shut down their Facebook pages. These companies cited a lack of guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on how they should handle the comments.

The FDA has a prescription. On Wednesday, the FDA released draft social media guidelines for how pharmaceutical companies respond to consumer comments online. The guidelines urge companies not to respond to unsolicited requests for information in a public forum. Instead, companies should respond by guiding the requestor to the appropriate department for private help. 

For most, these guidelines aren’t enough for them to get back on Facebook. They are concerned and unclear if they could be liable for information posted by third parties, specifically information related to adverse drug events.

Kudos to these pharma companies for thinking beyond the present moment, and considering the long-term effect missteps due to unclear guidance could have on their brand equity. 

The FDA is accepting public comments on the guidance through March 26.

What are your thoughts?

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Walgreens Creates a Breakthrough in Retail Health.

We’ve been talking about emerging retail health for the last two years, spotlighting brands you know, and brands you don’t, that are making a significant difference in health and well being.

Kudos to Walgreens for the birth of its next-generation retail face. With this new model, Walgreens moves from a traditional pharmacy delivering thousands of medications everyday, to a major destination for consumers who will appreciate a portfolio of health and wellness offerings like never before under one roof.

What does it take to change the game in your industry? Walgreens knows. It’s a customer-centric approach. It’s about knowing your customers better than they know themselves and delivering a product that will leave them wondering how they ever lived without it. To change the game, you need to think about how your brand can make a difference in your customers’ lives.

Walgreens opened it’s new flagship store, located in downtown Chicago at State and Randolph, that embodies the evolution of what it means to be a health brand.

The new two-story store, which opened on Tuesday, focuses on being well and living a healthy lifestyle. Innovative food and convenience products like the juice bar and made to order smoothies, hand-rolled sushi prepared fresh daily, on-the-go meals including fresh made sandwiches, wraps and salads, and the debut of Walgreens’ healthy snack and drink brand, Good & Delish, and its Nice! brand of groceries and household items sold up to 30 percent less than national brands, are only the beginning.

On the second floor is the pharmacy, and a miniature salon where patrons can get manicures. Customers are greeted by a “health guide,” a pharmacy technician or nurse practitioner who can answer questions about medications. The pharmacist is no longer shielded by the glass wall, and is instead seated at a desk behind the “health guide.” Why? To increase patient-pharmacist interaction, and ultimately to improve patient outcomes. There are two small kiosks where patients can check in, pick up and pay, by credit card, for recurring or pre-filled prescriptions. In another area is the Take Care Clinic, staffed by a nurse practitioner who can administer vaccinations, perform physical examinations, and treat minor wounds.

Walgreens has created a one-stop shop for customers, evolving from a healthcare provider to a health and wellness destination.

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Post-Halloween Initiative: Treats for Troops

It’s estimated that a record $2.3 billion was spent on Halloween candy this year according to the National Confectioner's Association. That’s a lot of candy. 

While the amount of candy kids collect on Halloween is a dream come true to them, in many ways, it’s a parent’s, and dentists’, worst nightmare. 

Well, fear no more. Why not sell the candy to dentists?

Dentists all over the country are participating in a candy buy-back program, and look at it as a “win-win-win.” Kids get money for their candy, parents (and dentists) keep unwanted sugar out of their bodies, and troops receive a care package from home.

Dentists pay children $1 per pound of candy, then send the candy to Operation Gratitude or other military support groups to be sent to troops serving overseas. Last year, Operation Gratitude collected 125 tons of candy. According to 7News, the organizers of the program are hoping to ship 150,000 packages this year, up 60,000 from last year.

Find a dentist near you that is participating in the program.

To you, and your dental health.

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What’s in a good provider advertising campaign anyway?

How about one that is still going strong three years after its launch, one that truly differentiates itself from others in an overly crowded marketplace? Well, the Cleveland Clinic has done this with its ‘unadorned facts’ ad campaign.

The campaign breaks away from traditional healthcare advertising, bringing instead a unique and distinctive approach to communicating with the consumer.

This isn’t surprising, as more hospitals and clinics are trying to break through the clutter. A recent MedCity News article about the highly successful campaign stated “in the first six months of 2011, advertising by American hospitals, clinics and medical centers rose 20 percent to $717 million.” 

MedCity News asked recognized health branding experts to give their opinions on the campaign, including HBG’s CEO and Founder, Jeffrey Nemetz. 

In the article, Nemetz raises a very important point about the holistic aspect of advertising, the foundation for a truly successful ad campaign. The ad campaign must align with all touchpoints within the hospital delivery system. Ultimately, it’s all about the patient experience.  

So before you develop your next ad campaign, think about all touchpoints in which your intended audience will experience your brand; make sure they align and tell the right story. Because if you don’t, it won’t matter how different your campaign is. 

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The hype on hypertension

Perhaps you’ve noticed a lot of hype lately on hypertension. Well, it’s not just hype, it is a growing health concern.

The trend used to be that it was a condition that typically affected those men over 40 and women after menopause, however, this has changed as more and more younger people are being diagnosed with the condition. Now, almost one in five young adults, ages 24-32, have hypertension according to a recent study. Even more frightening is the increase in children with the condition. A recent article by Cardiology Today stated “children who are overweight or obese have nearly a threefold higher prevalence of adiposity on hypertension compared with normal-weight children.” With the growing incidence of hypertension, in all age groups, it’s important to know the facts.

So what is hypertension? Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure.

What are the causes and risks?

Many factors can affect blood pressure. Your chances of having high blood pressure increase with age. And, you have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure if you are obese, often stressed or anxious, eat too much salt in your diet and/or drink too much alcohol. Hypertension greatly increases your chance of having a stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and even early death.

What can you do to prevent it?

Maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol intake, exercising regularly, cutting back on salt and eating a balanced diet are all key to preventing hypertension. There is even a new diet designed for prevention, and treatment, of hypertension.

The DASH diet, created after the results of a large clinical study, sponsored by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to examine the effects of diet on hypertension, were analyzed. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It has been documented to reduce blood pressure in just two months. Key to this diet is low salt intake, high fiber, low in fat, and high in potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Hypertension is a serious but preventable condition. So next time you think it’s just hype, think again.

To Your Health.

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Can you put a cost on health?

While it’s a commonly held belief that you can’t put a cost on good health, changes in health care might have you questioning this.

$15,073. That’s the average total family premium for 2011 according to the benchmark Kaiser/HRET 2011 Employer Health Benefits Survey, with workers paying approximately $4,100 and employers about $10,900.

What does this mean? It means that employer-sponsored family health coverage rose faster (9 percent) than wages (2 percent increase). And since starting the survey in 1999, worker contributions to premiums have increased 168 percent, while wages have only increased 50 percent.

The Kaiser Family Foundation claims that up to two percentage points of this year’s increase can be attributed to the new benefits required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – requiring health care plans to cover preventative care, such as immunizations and cancer screenings, and allowing children to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26. Already, 2.3 million young adults have enrolled on their parents’ policies, and 28 million workers (and dependants) have benefited from preventative care provisions.

Even more important than the change in costs, is the change in thinking. More employers are adopting wellness programs, encouraging workers to live more healthy lifestyles. Employers are realizing that in order to control health care costs, they need to address a more serious problem, the poor health choices that employees are making.

Perhaps you can put a cost on good health after all.

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Furry friends’ health movement.

I went to a talk a few months ago, someone was speaking about efforts to streamline volunteer efforts for non-profits in Chicago.  They said, “They are the people that work with the animals and the people that work with the people.  Two separate groups.”  Laughter from the audience ensued.  People who love animals, and have pets, for the most part take great care of their animals.  For many people, they are a part of their family or even are their family.  Thus, people spend a lot of time, resources, and money caring for their furry friends.  The business world is catching on.  Even Ellen DeGeneres is an owner of a pet food company, Halo.  When speaking about why she became an investor DeGeneres said, “I think Halo is incredible, I decided to become part owner in hopes that all animals have the chance to be the healthiest they can be… Halo is the best – just read the ingredients!”

Today it was announced that a new venture, Petflow.com, raised $10 Million in series B round of financing, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Petflow.com is an online store that delivers all of your pet’s needs on a schedule that you choose.  I also recently noticed that in an advertisement for pet store, Petco, they changed their tagline from “Where the pets go,” to “Where the healthy pets go,” with an asterisk inserting “healthy” into the tagline/logo.  Petco has not changed the logo on their site, but shows a shift in consumers’ interests in the needs of their pets, and what they want to buy and are willing to pay. 

Back to my thought about the quote; some people may think that health in terms of pets is not centered in the health marketing industry.  Yet if a pet food brand, store, or provider wants to become healthy, they might look to other products that have made this shift in.  Whether or not you’re feeding Fido sweet potato and venison pet food, this may be something to keep your eye on.   

Who and how do we use the Internet for health?

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report last Thursday, The Social Life of Health Information, 2011, revealing new insights as to how Americans use the Internet to access health information.  The report reveals how Americans currently use the Internet to share and access health information.  Pew states that theses are not yet mainstream activities, but there are pockets of highly engaged patients and caregivers who are taking an active role in tracking and sharing what they have learned.

This report shows that the world of health information is robust and active. You’re either in the conversation or not.  Some findings from the report include:

-       Of the 74% of adults who use the internet, 80% of internet users have looked online for information about any of 15 health topics such as a specific disease or treatment. This translates to 59% of all adults.

-       15% of social network site users, or 7% of adults, have gotten any health information on the sites.

-       27% of internet users, or 20% of adults, have tracked their weight, diet, exercise routine or some other health indicators or symptoms online.

The report illustrates two great opportunities for brands to use social media outlets to engage health consumers. The availability of social tools and the motivation, especially among people living with chronic conditions, to connect with each other are the drivers in the current online health conversation.  The question then becomes: How does a brand engage in the discussion - are you an information provider or connector? 

These percentages will continue to rise, as adults become more comfortable with social media platforms and younger generations utilize the Internet to access information more than any other medium.  Thus, brands need to position themselves to be ready for this uptick.  The stage has been set; make sure you’re ready.

Daisy Brands keeps it pure and natural.

Transparency has been an emerging topic in healthcare, business, and other issues in today’s world.  Consumers want to know that they are receiving the best possible products. With food that means keeping it simple and keeping it healthy.

Daisy Brand exemplifies the commitment to the healthiest possible products through their cottage cheese and sour cream.  Check out Reader’s Digest’s article highlighting 20 packaged foods with short ingredient lists.  One and three ingredients - now that’s simple and healthy.

Challenge Accepted.

At the beginning of this year, Pepsi caught my eye with the Refresh Everything project. Aimed at giving anyone, and everyone, the chance to compete for grants to support worthwhile causes, the Refresh Everything project did the unthinkable when it comes to philanthropy: They leveled the playing field. No longer were the fancy, PR-driven causes stealing the limelight. This time, Pepsi wiped the slate clean, and let America decided what it really cared about and who it wanted to support. It was the beginning for a newly empowered individual – and the beginning of the end for a stagnant and unimaginative corporate puppet master.

Surrounded by a passionate and aware team here at HBG Health, I’m constantly learning something new. It’s how I learned about the Pepsi Refresh Everything project, and it’s how I learned about a similar endeavor happening at on a global scale – The BBC’s World Challenge. This competition seeks to award financial grants to entrepreneurs that are seeking to change the world through innovation. Of course participants aren’t super-heroes with the ability to solve the world’s problems with a single glance. Instead they are strong-minded and ambitious individuals who believe that bringing new thinking to their village, their school or even their employer is enough to beget change on a larger scale.

And large-scale change is coming… It’s coming through government reform, technology innovation, and basic social transformation. How each of us chooses to participate and support in this change will define who we are as individuals, as businesses and as communities at large. And nowhere will this change be more tangible and meaningful than in the systems, companies and products that contribute to the health of the world.